Mobile Ag Ed Science Lab

Cutline Meyersdale Elementary and Middle School students enjoyed an unusual learning experience during the week of March 9 through 13, through the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau’s Mobile Ag Ed Science Lab. Students, in Kindergarten through eighth grade, were given the opportunity to visit the mobile Science lab where they engaged in a variety activities and experiments. Eighth grade students, including Abby Sleasman and Abby Wahl, conducted a lab experiment called the “Science of Chocolate” to identify the various properties of chocolate.

Meyersdale Middle and Elementary School students enjoyed a “home-grown” learning experience like no other during the week of March 9 through 13. Students in kindergarten through eighth grade were the first to experience the Mobile Ag Ed Science Lab, made possible through the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau. This special visit is made possible through the generous support of the Meyersdale High School FFA Chapter, as well as the Meyersdale Area Educational Boosters.

The mobile lab offered hands-on science experiments promoting agriculture, Pennsylvania’s leading industry. The lab had 12 workstations and every student in the lower grades had the opportunity to experience the lab. Students worked cooperatively in groups of two to solve a problem, form a hypothesis, conduct an experiment, collect data and draw conclusions on their assigned task.

Every experiment emphasized a different aspect of agriculture, while helping students to learn about the importance of the industry that employs one in five of every Pennsylvania through the food and fiber chain.

According to Mrs. Doreen Jamison, Agriculture Education and Environmental Science teacher; and FFA Advisor, said this is the first time the Mobile Ag Ed Science Lab has visited the District. She and her students enjoyed sharing their love of the industry with the elementary and middle school students.

“The Mobile Ag Lab is a great way to expose students to agriculture in a fun environment in a mobile classroom with hands-on activities,” explained Jamison.

Activities, tailored to each grade level, included the following sessions: Little Red Hen, Corn To Plastic, Environmentally Friendly Farmer, Mighty Small Bean, Crawly Critters; Tops & Bottoms; No Soil, Now What; Genetics and the Science of Chocolate. Each session lasted nearly an hour, giving students time to follow the important steps of the Scientific Method: Ask a Question; Create a Hypothesis; Test the Hypothesis; Analyze Data; Draw Conclusion; and Communicate Results. These are the important steps of any experiment, at any level, and these skills are taught and reinforced at all grade levels at MASD.